Your Wool Rugs Worst Enemy

Do you know what your rugs worst enemy is? I’ll give you a hint. It’s not your new untrained puppy. It’s not the bottle of wine you spilled on it. It’s not the years and years of abuse you and your families feet put it through. It’s actually MOTHS. Your wool rug may be the perfect meal and home for a moth. They do not discriminate against the quality of the wool, how valuable the rug is, or how sentimental the rug may be to you.

Moths are not lively insects like flies and fleas. It is highly unlikely you will find them flying around or crawling on your rug in plain sight due to the fact that moths like to live undisturbed and in the dark. Rugs left unprotected in storage and the ones sitting underneath furniture neglected by routine cleaning are the most susceptible, especially those stained with food and/or urine. This explains why months or even years can pass by with people not knowing that they have a moth infestation. Unfortunately, it only takes a short period for moths to cause significant damage to your rug which results in costly repairs or a rug being tossed in the trash too early on in its life.

Here are a few signs to look out for:

Delicate white webbing similar to a spiders

Small white cocoons (shown in picture to the right)

Small wiggling larva (shown in picture to the right)

Obvious damage to the rug (shown in picture below)

Check for moths with a moth trap

Still not sure? Bring it by our plant where we can take a look and offer our expertise

Lucky enough to not have any current moth activity? This does not guarantee you won’t have any in the future so taking preventative measures is key.

Moths loathe the natural odors of cedar and lavender. Store small bags of cedar shavings, lavender, or a combination of both, in areas you are hoping to protect. Another easy deterrent is to never allow an area be undisturbed for too long; rotate furniture, regularly vacuum areas under furniture, move furniture to allow light to shine on that area, etc. If you will be storing the rug, wrap with paper or cloth to allow the rug to breathe (this also helps to prevent musty odors and mildew) and drop in some cedar shavings or moth crystals depending on your preference and the longevity of the storage. If possible, check in on the rug for any signs of moth activity every few months.

If you already have a moth issue, don’t panic. We offer a moth treatment that will remove any moths currently infesting the rug. However, this does not prevent any moths from claiming the rug again so make sure that the entire home is moth free when setting the rug back down. If there is damage to the rug, we offer various repairs depending on the structure of the rug. No matter your current situation, we are here to help with your war against moths.